The Start of Something…
by riah alice drake
Summary: A slightly different take on how Tilly/Margot meet the second time. .Song Fanfic


She'd been in town for only a day still getting her bearings from being gone for so long and she was still getting used to having a steady job rather than jumping from one to the next. She was also quietly trying to find that cute blonde shed met the night she came back to town. Just to be sure Tilly was alright of course not because she was already crushing hard on the self-described 'Crazy Girl' or anything.

Margot also knew that despite only being into his first drink of the night that Henry – someone she felt was almost like family to her yet she'd only met him the day before- and someone she already considered a close friend had to be at least buzzed from his first drink of the night when they made this beat, so she never thought he really meant she had to go through with it.

The fact that her mother and her aunt had added new stakes to said beat wasn't that surprising but for those stakes to be set so high so quickly after her return was….

Now as she climbed the steps to the stage Margot vowed to herself that once this humiliation was over she would get them back. Somehow some way she would make them suffer if it was the last thing she did.

Earlier in the night:

"By the end of the night, you have to sing a romantic duet with a random stranger." Henry said simply while Margot topped the top on the beer he just ordered and set it down in front of him.

"So karaoke at karaoke night basically….while I'm technically still on the clock at a job I've had for literal a day?" Margot questioned while Henry just nodded taking a long sip of his drink.

"But we get to pick the song." Kelly had added making Margot start in surprise not realizing that she had been listening in on their conversation "And we get to pick who you sing with just to make it fair." Roni had joined in from her other side sharing a scary smile with her sister as if they already knew who they were going to pick.

"What are the stakes?" Margot questioned tossing a dish towel over her shoulder looking between the three curiously.

"If you don't do the song or try and get out of this by only doing half of it then you have to pay us fifty dollars apiece." Her mother answered.

Margot gulped at the amount as she looked around the all but empty bar. That was all her paycheck for the night and half of her next one if business didn't pick up soon. "But if you do make the whole song we each have to pay you the fifty and you can take all of next three days off." Roni wagered holding out her hand across the bar.

"You three are oddly confident in this thing." Margot reasoned taking her bosses hand firmly in her own and shaking it. "Well I'm pretty well buzzed right now I don't know why they look so smug." Henry pointed out around the rim of his beer.

Right Now:

Margot was still squinting past the glare of the stage lights reflecting off her glasses while her aunt tugged her chosen singing partner up the steps. The only thing she could make out is that it's a woman around Margot's age with blonde hair and who's wearing an oversized arms green parka on. As if Roni hadn't even given the poor woman time to take her jacket off before she dragged her into the lion's den.

"You'll be fine. Have fun." Roni grinned letting go of the cure blonde's wrist not even bothering to introduce they two before grabbing the microphone "Okay let's hear it for the last song of the night." She says earning an equal parts cheer and groans from the crowd. "Have fun you two." The bar owner grinned while the crowd erupted into rather drunken cheers as she handed each of them a mic and headed down the steps.

"I'm really sorry about this." Margot whispers to the cute blonde seeing around the glare of her glasses that she's shaking from what Margot assumes is equal parts fear and stage fright as their eyes meet for the first time.

Ocean blue and kind of the most beautiful eyes Margot has ever seen now for the second time in her life.

The music starts up before they could do more than gasp in surprise at one another and Margot is really considering assault when this is over at the song her relatives have picked out.

 _'Seriously who even knows High School Musical anymore anyway?'_ Margot thinks taking a deep breath as she twirled the microphone around in her hand before she started singing.

It wasn't until the music had reached the part where Tilly was supposed to join in that she started to panic. What if she didn't want to sing with her? Would she still stay at the bar afterward, so Margot would be able to talk to her once her shift was over? Would she even come back to the bar at all after this?

Her fear was short lived when the adorably shy blonde at the other side of the little stage started her part of the song. Not that she looked at Margot once while she sang. Good thing too so Margot could have time to pick her jaw up from the floor at just how beautiful her voice was before she had to join in the song again.

It wasn't until they reached the chorus that Tilly glance over in Margot's direction at all giving her a shy smile while they sang. She seemed to loosen up the longer they sang even shedding her parka under the heat of the stage lights showing off a red and black checker over shirt and a scoop neck black shirt underneath as she tossed her jacket off stage to a scruffy-faced man that Margot guess was a close friend given the grin the two shared.

She wasn't expecting for Tilly to tackle her in a hug as soon as the song ends to an eruption of cheering. "I knew I'd find you again." Tilly says hugging onto her tighter once they'd left the stage for the alcove by the backroom. "You were looking for me?" Margot asked in amazement part of her mind wondering why her mom and aunt were looking at them so strangely from the bar. As if they'd expected yet hadn't expected this to happen while Margot hugs the other woman back just as tightly.

"Well yeah. I wanted to thank you for saving my life the other day." Tilly blushed "Besides I don't even know your name."

"It's Margot. With a 'T'." the blushing bartender tells her

"Targo?" Tilly giggles brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear before Margot could.

The 'T' is at the other end." Margot laughs reaching out to take Tilly's hand in her own when she sees her mother giving her a rather pointed look when more people head over to the already overwhelmed bar. "Let me get you some water or something okay Tilly? Then we can talk properly okay?" Margot askes not knowing why she was so comfortable lacing her fingers with the stunned looking woman's as she led her over to the bar. "You remember me?" Tilly asked, "Well yeah. It's like you said I saved your life the other day so that makes you hard to forget." Margot joked stepping back behind the bar but leaving everyone that wasn't Tilly for her bosses to deal with a while longer.

"Hang on you to already know each other?" Henry asked melting out of the crowd around the bar at Tilly's shoulder. "Nope, you're just buzzed again Henry." Margot tells him sending a teasing wink in Tilly's direction pressing a finger to her lips to tell the blonde to stay quiet while Henry's unfocused eyes become even more so while Margot sets a bottle of water in front of him. "Dang….but least you get to take your new friend on a date with your free time." He points out with a little pout.

Tilly blushes at the idea catching Margot's eye with a soft hopeful look.

"We lost the bet." Henry announces to the other two "Hey Rogers." The author grinned when the seat on his other side filled with the man Margot had seen earlier. "Henry." The man- Rogers- nodes. "We should get you two singing together again sometime." He comments "You brought the house down."


End file.
